Kansas City Chiefs next for Buffalo Bills in must-win game for playoff bid: What to know
It’s getting redundant to keep pointing out, but the Buffalo Bills are facing another game that they simply can’t afford to lose when they make what has now become their annual trip to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday afternoon.
Now sitting at 6-6 with five games left to play, as Led Zeppelin once sang, the song remains the same for Buffalo: Having blown four games that it led in the fourth quarter, most recently a gut-wrenching defeat in Philadelphia their last time out, the margin for error is now razor thin.
The Bills got some help Sunday as three teams they are battling with for one of the three AFC wild-card berths - Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Denver - all lost. However Indianapolis and Houston both won, as did AFC East leader Miami as it extended its division lead over Buffalo to three games. All six of those teams still remain ahead of the 10th-seeded Bills.
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A loss to the Chiefs would put the Bills on life support in the race because not only would they suffer a seventh loss, it would be their sixth in the AFC. At that point, barring a four-game winning streak, and a huge collapse by the Dolphins, the Bills would be cooked.
As for the Chiefs, they dropped a 27-19 decision Sunday night in Green Bay and have problems of their own, though not as sincere as Buffalo because they still lead the AFC West by two games over the Broncos.
The defending Super Bowl champions have lost three of their last five games and are struggling on offense as they rank tied for 11th in points per game (22.9) and eighth in yards (362.6).
Now, here come the desperate Bills who have beaten the Chiefs two years in a row in regular-season games at Arrowhead.
Here’s an early look ahead to the matchup:
Top players for Kansas City Chiefs on offense, defense
▶ QB Patrick Mahomes: You can make the case for other QBs, but until dethroned, Mahomes is still the best. However, his magical powers have dwindled this season because the weapons around him are mostly ordinary, especially in the WR corps. He has 22 TD passes but also has 10 interceptions.
▶ RB Isiah Pacheco: There may not be a RB who runs angrier than Pacheco who played at Rutgers and as a seventh-round pick plays with an enormous chip on his shoulder. He is fifth in the NFL in rushing with 779 yards and also has 33 catches for 209 yards. He was a beast against the Packers with 110 yards before getting ejected on the final drive when he threw a punch at a Green Bay defender.
▶ WR Rashee Rice: The rookie second-round pick has emerged as the No. 1 WR target ahead of veterans like Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore. He has 52 catches for 591 yards and five TDs
▶ TE Travis Kelce: Taylor Swift’s boyfriend is still dangerous - 74 catches for 813 yards - but he’s not quite having the dominant season we’ve come to expect. He’s currently stuck on five TDs, just one in the last five games. But these are the Bills and in eight career games counting the postseason, Kelce has decimated Buffalo with 49 catches for 571 yards and seven TDs.
▶ DT Chris Jones: The latest in a long line of game-wrecking DTs the Bills’ offensive line has faced this season, and Jones might be the best of them all which is saying something. He’s a monster against the run and also has 7.5 sacks.
▶ DE George Karlaftis: The 2022 first-round pick leads the Chiefs in sacks (8) and pressures (51) and had also batted down three passes and forced a fumble.
▶ LB Drue Tranquill: The Chiefs’ leading tackler (72) also has two forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks, but he suffered a concussion in Green Bay and is now in the protocol, putting his status in question for Sunday.
▶ CB L’Jarius Sneed: The Chiefs have entrusted him to shadow the opposition’s best WR in several games, and some of his performances have been downright great. He limited A.J. Brown of the Eagles to one catch for eight yards; Miami’s Tyreek Hill to eight catches but for only 62 yards; Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson to three catches for 28 yards; and Jacksonville’s Calvin Ridley to two catches for 32 yards.
▶ CB Trent McDuffie: Pro Football Focus has the 2022 first-round pick graded eighth-best in coverage among the 30 CBs who have played at least 400 snaps in coverage this season. He also has 62 tackles, two sacks and has forced five fumbles.
Who is favored to win Bills vs Chiefs?
The Bills have opened as a 3-point underdog for the game. The money line is Bills plus-135 (bet $100 to win $135) and Chiefs minus-155 (bet $155 to win $100). The over-under is 48.
What time does the Bills vs Chiefs game start?
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium.
How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs game on TV, streaming
▶ Cable/Network TV: NBC. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WHEC (Channel 10, Rochester), WGRZ (Buffalo area), WSTM (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WETM (Elmira area), WNYT (Albany area), and WBGH (Binghamton area).
▶ Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.
▶ TV streaming: You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Peacock.
On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Chiefs game
You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on Sirius channel 160 and XM channel 383 (Bills feed) and Sirius channel 82 and XM channel 228 (Chiefs feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:
Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)
Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)
Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)
Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)
Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)
Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)
Newark (WACK 1420 AM)
Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)
Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)
Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)
Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who do the Bills play next? Game vs Chiefs is must-win for playoffs
